Multiphase fate and crew exposure of oil-borne pollutants in shipboard cabins

Shipboard cabins may experience persistent emissions of oil aerosols and vapors during mechanically intensive operation, while limited ventilation promotes long-term accumulation on surfaces and in materials. To characterize such contamination, we developed a compound-resolved multiphase mass-transfer model coupling gas–particle-surface exchange, dynamic organic-film growth on impermeable surfaces, and depth-resolved transport in permeable materials. Based on qualitative source characterization, 32 oil-borne organic pollutants were simulated under an equal-mass assumption to examine compound-dependent distribution, accumulation, and exposure. Validation of the air–particle–dust transport framework against published indoor measurements showed satisfactory agreement for airborne and settled-dust concentrations. Under zero external ventilation, total suspended particles, particle-phase oil, and gas-phase oil stabilized at 3.2 mg/m³, 1.75 × 10³ μg/m³, and 1.5 × 10² μg/m³, respectively, compared with 0.05 mg/m³, 2.15 μg/m³, and 1.75 μg/m³ under ventilation. In permeable materials, the near-surface dust concentration reached about 2.0 kg/m³ under zero external ventilation, approximately 40 times the ventilated value, while the total internal oil concentration was nearly 3.5 × 10⁹ μg/m³ under zero external ventilation and on the order of 10⁷ μg/m³ under ventilation. Upward-facing oil films reached about 700 nm by day 365 under zero external ventilation. Under the conservative continuous-exposure scenario, total daily intake decreased from approximately 5 × 10² μg/(kg·day) under zero external ventilation to 4 μg/(kg·day) under ventilation, while the corresponding screening-level hazard index decreased from 49–62 to 0.25–0.46. These results provide a mechanistic basis for evaluating multiphase pollutant accumulation, crew exposure, and contamination-control strategies in confined shipboard environments.